The man accused of killing former Ole Miss student Jimmie “Jay” Lee is facing an additional charge now that the deceased’s remains have been found.
Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington, Jr. is facing a charge of tampering with evidence on top of capital murder in connection with Lee’s now-confirmed death at the time of his next trial. This comes less than a week after human remains found by hunters in Carroll County were reported by the State Crime Lab to belong to Lee, a beloved figure in Oxford’s LGBTQ+ community who had been missing since July 2022.
Authorities in Oxford arrested Herrington two weeks after Lee’s disappearance. Herrington, a Grenada native, was accused of killing Lee in order to conceal a romantic relationship the two were having. The alleged killer stood trial on a capital murder charge with State Rep. Kevin Horan serving as his lead legal counsel.
During court proceedings in Lafayette County this past December, it was discovered that Herrington had used Google on his computer to search, “How long does it take to strangle someone gabby petito [sic]” – referring to the high-profile case of a New York 22-year-old killed by her fiancé in 2021 – just moments after Lee told Herrington he was coming over on the last day Lee was seen by anyone other than Herrington.
Additionally, after Lee’s disappearance, video surveillance at the Oxford Walmart showed Herrington looking at large trash cans but only purchasing duct tape. Herrington later traveled to Grenada, operating a box truck that was said to be used for his moving business, and acquired a shovel, wheelbarrow, and lap pads.
Ultimately a mistrial was declared in Herrington’s case as the jury could not reach a consensus agreement as to whether to convict Herrington of capital murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder, culpable negligence manslaughter, or find him not guilty. Despite the 11-1 vote favoring a conviction, the lone dissenter spurred a final decision, leaving Circuit Judge Kelly Luther to reach out to prosecutors and defense attorneys about setting a date for a retrial.
One of the dissenting juror’s holdbacks in committing to convict Herrington of the crime was the lack of the victim’s body. Now that Lee’s body was found — in a neighboring county to Herrington’s childhood home, much less — a new trial will pose new challenges and now a new charge to the defense, which has consistently maintained the suspect’s innocence.
